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Thread: Hard drive erasing trouble

  1. #1
    Senior Member BCNZ's Avatar
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    Default Hard drive erasing trouble

    Here's something I've not seen before, and it's got me stumped.

    Second hand laptop.
    Reformatted the drive then loaded a new install of Win 7.
    Used the machine for a few weeks.
    Wanted to be sure all the data on the drive from the previous owner was securely erased.
    Put Clean Disk Security on (a utility that has never failed) and ran a deep clean.
    After doing this, ran a file recovery utility and it showed me that all the old files were still there! [Not just the file names, but actual viewable files].
    Put CCleaner on, and the same thing happened. After several hours of drive cleaning all the old files remained.
    Did a defrag, but that didn't help either.
    The strange thing is that any files relating to the use of the laptop in the few weeks subsequent to putting Win 7 on are all gone, but the old
    files relating to the previous owner remain firmly stuck.

    Sure, I could drop the hard drive out and put a new one in, but that doesn't solve the question of why I can't get rid of the files from the
    previous owner.

    Thoughts?



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    I bought a desktop PC last year of Gumtree for $40. The owners gave it to me with a fresh install of windows on it.

    Out of interest, I ran on it and and recovered all their old files, including nude pictures I then securely deleted the recovered files. The reason i did it was because I was also curious about what was on there for when I dispose of old computers and what people could recover. It was an interesting exercise and made me realise that realistically I wouldnt sell a computer unless I had removed and destroyed the drive.

    This might be of interest:

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    i have found that you need to do a low level format using the tools on the hirens cd to be sure
    and a few will take a day to do a hdd


    Last edited by fandtm666; 28-01-17 at 01:01 PM.
    dont say linux if i wanted it id install it

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    Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) has served me well over the years. It's getting a bit long in the tooth these days and on modern machines, often needs the disk controller put in to a backwards compatibility mode. It might be worth a try for you, although it looks like it has been bought by some company called "Blancco":

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    LSemmens
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    Whilst I agree that blowing away everything on a HDD is necessary, and, in some cases, needed. The average computer noddy wouldn't have a clue that there is data there to recover, let alone know how to do it. FWIW I delete all partitions, recreate and then format them on most of my "old" drives and that is about all I ever need to worry about.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    i always do a low level format then do the standard fat32 / ntfs

    ive tested with recovery programs and once a low level format is done
    i have never been able to retrieve anything from the hdd's
    dont say linux if i wanted it id install it

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    No matter what you use to delete files, they are never gone. The only way they are permanently erased is through usage of the hard-drive to store other files. In other words, you overwrite the old files with time and usage. Deleted files are never deleted, only replaced.

    So whatever is still not replaced/overwritten, will always be recoverable.
    Last edited by irritant; 30-01-17 at 03:59 AM.

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    I use Eraser...it has a number of overwrite methods that have proved OK to me. Many are defence methods from various countries. Its open source...AND free....

    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

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    I just pull the hdd out and strip them only because I want the magnets out of them. the platters I hit with sand paper.

    I don't have anything of value on them but I like to make it as hard as possible if I ever throw them out

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